Having showcased the building primarily from the outside, as the face of its fictional city hall and police station, “Sleepy Hollow” filmed its first significant scenes inside the historic county courthouse in downtown Wilmington earlier today.
Shown in episodes in exterior shots and “walk-and-talk” scenes at its Princess Street entrance, the New Hanover County Historic Courthouse served the purpose it was built for in scenes shot today: a trial of one of the primary characters of the Fox TV series, which is filming its second season.
The trial was filmed in the chambers room where the county board of commissioners holds its regular meetings. The second-story room was originally two courtrooms when the courthouse was built in the early 1890s.
A walk-and-talk scene was also shot in the building’s lobby, featuring the first floor’s grand staircase prominently. And a bedroom scene was shot on one side of the chambers room, in the turret-like nook that overlooks Princess Street.
The scenes were the first to be shot inside the courthouse, which has been featured from the outside as the show’s city hall and police headquarters. While exterior shots feature the courthouse quite prominently, interior scenes of the show’s police station are filmed inside a sound stage at EUE/Screen Gems Studios.
With the scenes shot today—for Episode 14—the courthouse is now a “Sleepy Hollow” star both inside and out.
Mark Boyer, the county’s coordinator for filming at county facilities, noted the scenes are the first inside shots to be filmed for the show that has become its calling card.
“They’ve done exterior work there at the courthouse quite a few times, but this is really one of the few episodes they’ve actually been in the building,” Boyer said.
“Sleepy Hollow” isn’t the first production to film at the courthouse, nor the first to feature it as a police station. “One Tree Hill” filmed interior police station shots there, while “Dawson’s Creek” used the building as a train station. Several productions have also featured the courthouse as a courthouse, including the HBO movie “Mary and Martha,” which shot scenes there in 2012.
Actor Orlando Jones was among the cast on set during filming today. Jones, who is hosting a local film festival in Wilmington next week, plays police captain Frank Irving in the supernatural show—a modern-day retelling of the Washington Irving classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Filming for the show’s second season, which has already started airing Mondays on Fox, is past the midway point, with a total of 18 episodes ordered. Filming is expected to wrap in January.
One of several productions to film in Wilmington this year and last year, “Sleepy Hollow” has featured several locations including the Cotton Exchange, Greenfield Lake, Bellevue Cemetery and the Cape Fear Club, where filming has been focused over the past couple weeks.
“Sleepy Hollow” airs at 9 p.m. Mondays on Fox.
Related stories:
- With ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ historic county courthouse gets turn in spotlight
- Courthouse clock tower, a ‘Sleepy Hollow’ star, gets closeup-ready facelift
- Sleepy Hollow ‘war’ invades prestigious Cape Fear Club
Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or jonathan.s@portcitydaily.com. On Twitter: @jrspiers
